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Letter
from William Keeler
to His Wife
The previous was an excerpt from a letter
written by William Keeler, paymaster of the Monitor,
to his wife following the battle on March 9, 1862. Keeler was
aboard the Monitor during the battle; his station was
midway between the turret and the pilot house passing directions
from the captain to the turret concerning the position of the
Virginia. Read the letter closely and answer the following
questions.
- In the letter Keeler refers to the Confederate ship Virginia
as the Merrimac. What could be a reason for him not
adopting the Confederate name?
- What was the feeling on board before and during the fight?
Were the crew confident that the ironclad would hold up during
the battle?
- What was the reason for the Monitor to draw back
from the battle? What reason did the newspaper account give?
How did the Confederates in the Virginia interpret
this backward movement?
- How could these views on the movement of the Monitor
lead to the disagreement over who won?
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